Mick Jagger says he wasn't interested in talking business with James Brown when the pair met in the 1960s.
The Rolling Stone’s financial abilities are regarded by many as one of the reasons his band make so much money.
But the frontman, whose production company will release Brown biopic Get On Up on Friday, suggests it wasn’t always so – while admitted he learned many lessons from the Godfather of Soul.
Jagger tells USA Today: “James was always very nice, very generous; but he talked about business a lot and I wasn’t that interested.
“I’d listened to Live At The Apollo intently – you can hear he’s a great performer, and I was picturing how he would dance. Then I went to see him at the Apollo and I was blown away. I was impressed by how hard he worked, and how he had the audience in the palm of his hand. That was a learning experience for me.”
Jagger admits there’s a certain amount of poetic license at play in the movie scene that shows his band watching from backstage as Brown blows them away during 1964’s TAMI Show in Santa Monica. The truth is that, while Brown was furious over the Stones having a higher billing than him, Jagger didn’t watch the performance at all.
“James was very competitive. I’m sure he wanted to put on the best show,” he says.
Get On Up features Chadwick Boseman in the title role. Jagger, who celebrated his 71st birthday at the weekend, is proud of the results – but it doesn’t mean he’s interested in making a movie about himself. “There’s been some garbage script floating around – it’s of no literary merit.” he says. “Most people that write this stuff are useless. Probably someone will do one some day. Who knows.”
